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Ventura Keeps Pledge, Proposes Tax Rebate Worth Hundreds Each

ST. PAUL , MINNESOTA — Gov. Jesse Ventura kept a campaign pledge Thursday by proposing a tax rebate of the state's projected budget surplus that he said will amount to an average of $779 per family.

"My goal is to provide a maximum rebate with a minimum of delays," said Ventura, a former professional wrestler and radio talk-show host who won a surprise victory in the Nov. 3 elections.

He said checks ranging from $203 to $2,000 will be mailed in August, depending on the size of the two-year budget surplus on June 30; it currently is projected at $1.5 billion.

The legislature still must approve the proposed rebate.

Ventura proposed the rebate be based on 35 percent of estimated sales taxes paid over the last two years. That would eliminate federal taxes that would have been incurred if the rebate came in the form of a state income tax refund.

Taxpayers are allowed to deduct state income taxes from income on their federal tax forms, so an income tax refund could have triggered a federal tax.

Rebating sales taxes also permits those who do not pay any state income taxes, such as the elderly living on Social Security, to receive money back, Ventura said.

"This payment is targeted to people who need the money," Ventura said. "It's not just an across-the-board rebate."